France's Le FabShop has extensive experience testing 3D printers and creating digital models for them. From an articulated Makey Robot to a posable elephant model, Samuel N. Bernier, Bertier Luyt, and the rest of Le FabShop's team have created some of the most-printed designs in the 3D printing world. This book uses their work to teach you how to get professional results out of a desktop 3D printer without needing to be trained in design. Through a series of tutorials and case studies, this book gives you the techniques to turn a product idea into a 3D model and a prototype. Focusing on free design software and affordable technologies, the exercises in this book are the perfect boost to any beginner looking to start designing for 3D printing.

Designing for the tool and finding a good tool to fit the design—these are at the core of the product designer's job, and these are the tools this book will help you master. Featuring a foreword by Autodesk CEO Carl Bass, a passionate and prolific Maker. 

Projects Included

• Learn the different 3D printing technologies
• Choose the best desktop 3D printer
• Discover free 3D modeling software
• Become familiar with 3D scanning solutions
• Find out how to go from a bad to a good 3D source file, one that's ready-to-print

Meet the Authors

Samuel N. Bernier

Samuel Nelson Bernier is a Canadian industrial designer and le FabShop's creative director since January 2013. He is a graduate of the University of Montreal where he excelled with his exceptional educational journey: Winner of the Lieutenant Governor's Medal, 2010 personality of the year and winner of the the Be Open Award in London. In 2012, he was invited by the Autodesk group to be an artist in residence in San Francisco. He wrote the memoir Project RE_, DIY in Digital Age, which followed his journey through the world of Makers and FabLabs. It was this same year that he met Bertier Luyt, a French entrepreneur who invited him to join his business project, le FabShop. Samuel N. Bernier is also a teacher at the Domus Academy in Milan for a workshop that he is giving on the theme of "Makers." In August 2013, the British magazine ICON chose the young designer for its "Future 50" list of the best-known emerging creators.

Bertier Luyt

Bertier Luyt is a professional maker-entrepreneur, self-educated father of two kids. After a career in music, in the early 2000s he turned his career toward design and designing professional spaces, an activity for which he started using SketchUp. Bertier Luyt's expertise was recognized in 2010 when he gave a conference at Google Sketchup 3D Basecamp about "3D modeling for digital manufacturing" at a time when the first 3D printers aimed at the general public made their appearance in the United States. 

After attending his first Maker Faire in New York in 2011, he launched leFabShop, a 3D modeling and digital fabrication studio, in early 2012 in France. Early works include 3D modelling the Palace of Versailles for the Google Cultural Institute. Bertier has written other books on 3D printing and 3D modelling; he's also been a speaker at different conferences such as MakerCon, TEDx, Hello Tomorrow, and Trimble Dimension. His favorite topics are digital manufacturing, self-empowerment and entrepreneurship. In 2013, he organized France's first Mini Maker Faire in Saint-Malo and created SWF: the first Eco-friendly sea weed 3D printing filament. He is the producer for Maker Faire in France.

Tatiana Reinhard

An illustrator and computer graphics designer first, following a successful career in multimedia visual communication at the Olivier de Serres school, Tatiana Reinhard, moved by her passion for the image, began a masters degree in Arts and Technology of the Image and became a 3D generalist for video and real time. A compulsive dabbler, passionate geek, and curious about new technologies, she works on the ongoing industrial revolution through the emergence of FabLabs and 3D printing. After teaching CAM at the University of Paris-8, she applied to le FabShop, wanting to test her knowledge as a virtual technician in a digital manufacturing studio. Today, Tatiana is a designer and creative at le FabShop. She also provides professional training to businesses going into 3D printing.